Smalltownfoodsnobs's Blog

Fooducate App – a must have for all foodies.

My best friend introduced me to the Free “Fooducate” app for my iPhone about a month ago.  I try to be aware and considerate of the things me and family eat.  But, honestly, ingredients lists, nutrition labels and health claims can be very confusing.  Especially when I shop with a toddler, and I’m not very focused…  Usually when I don’t recognize ingredients, I don’t buy it.  Now, I have a tool to help guide me and more importantly – educate me.

Fooducate was created by concerned parents and dietitians and they also mention that they are “NOT funded or influenced by food manufacturers, supplement companies, diets, or any sort of magic pill.”

How it works:  You turn on your app and scan the bar code on any product.  Once you scan your item it is represented by a letter grade from A to D.  You can see alternative choices and dig deeper.  With over 200,000 unique products and counting I’ve rarely come across something not in their database. And if its not in their database they invite you to add the information!

From their website:

“Fooducate analyzes information found in each product’s nutrition panel and ingredient list.

You get to see the stuff manufacturers don’t want you to notice, such as

• excessive sugar
• tricky trans fats
• additives and preservatives
• high fructose corn syrup
• controversial food colorings
• confusing serving sizes
• and more…

Just pick up a product from the shelf, scan it, and let Fooducate do the rest.”

Works on iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and Android OS version 2.2 and up.

Download it. Let me know what you think!

Eat Well, Be Well,

michaela

Diner at Sycamore St. Grill. Clarkston, WA.

Sycamore St. Grill in Clarkston has been on my radar for a long time.  I live extremely close and pass it all the time.  But, coordinating date night with a baby-sitter and my husbands schedule is not always easy.  Also, for some reason I had the misconception that it would be very expensive.  It features mostly Pasta dishes (not sure why the title says “Grill”) and on Thursday and Friday they feature Sushi Rolls for $7-10, which I will go back and try soon!  The wine selection is fabulous, the best I’ve seen around, featuring a wide variety of mostly local wines.

It is located in heart of downtown Clarkston, and has an interesting side-door entrance.  I really like the lobby, and the wine-bar area.  The dining room feels a bit lonely, but the random art work brightens it up and makes it interesting.  The carpet has to go though!  Maybe there’s some beautiful hard-woods under there??

I had the privilege of talking with Chef Mason McCroskey, who stepped up to take over most operations while Chef/Owner Pat Morrison is temporarily absent from the kitchen while fighting a battle with cancer. Mason grew up with Pat’s kids, and has embraced and emulated Pat’s reputation of truly caring about the food he puts out.   The only visible change with Pat not being there is that the Sushi menu has been temporarily been suspended with hopes of being back in about 8 weeks.

What I love about Sycamore St. Grill is that they don’t believe in “warmers”, nothing is sitting there, waiting to be ordered, than re-heated.  And they make their own pasta by hand (!!) with the exception of the Penne.  They also make all their own demi-glace and mariana from scratch.  They don’t use sauces that aren’t made by them.  And the prices like I mentioned are not that steep.  It is very comparable to McCullens in Lewiston, but with much better service and food.

I  don’t know of any other restaurant in the valley that hand makes their own pasta – do you?  So this I had to see for myself.  Chef Mason was making Semolina pasta while I was there.   It is a beautiful process that I have never seen in person.  First he chills the homemade dough, then rolls it out and cuts it in long thin pieces that will go through the Pasta machine.

Next Mason put the dough through the pasta machine again and again until he got it just the right thickness.  A very tedious project that really impressed me.

When the pasta was finally ready to be cut, he very carefully put it through the machine and then quickly on a floured sheet pan.  Again, the care and consideration they put into their food is something I will not forget.  And homemade pasta is really so, so much better than dried store-bought.

Sycamore St. Grill also offers gluten-free options – duck served over mashed potatoes, scampi over rice, scallops over beluga lentils with apple feta reduction sauce with tomato basil cream sauce, and the list goes on!  Everything is made to order, so if you ask for gluten-free options they’d be happy to help!

  Based upon recommendations from friends we started with the Bruschetta with Goat Cheese and Peppers $8.95

And also the Shrimp Crostini with sun-dried tomato and feta cheese sauce $8,95

We also greatly enjoyed a bottle of Amavi Cellars wine from Walla Walla, Washington.  (Again, their wine list is GREAT.)

The Bruchetta was just lovely.  The bread from Sage Bakery in Lewiston, was warm and crunchy, and delicious and the perfect vessel for the creamy Goat Cheese and not-overly sweet Peppers.  It was very, very good.

The Shrimp Crostini was good also.  The bread was again, just perfect and the Shrimp were very large and cooked perfectly.  It needed a kick of some sort, maybe heat, maybe citrus, not sure.

Next, I ordered the Penne with Prosciutto, asparagus and wild mushrooms in a creamy Parmesan sauce.  $22.00

It was delicious.  The prosciutto was very tender and melted in my mouth, the asparagus also melted in my mouth,while the pasta was Al Dente.  I wish there was more mushrooms also and although the prosciutto was a little salty, the dish needed more salt.

  My Aunt Barbara ordered the Spinach Ravioli with marina sauce ($15), while my husband, Ira, ordered the Special – ravioli with Italian Sausage.  The Spinach Ravioli was the best I’ve ever had. Great texture from the toasted bread crumbs, lots of cheese, and delicious spinach filling.  And the Marinara tasted delicious.

Aunt Barbara also enjoyed a Grey Goose Martini and it was delicious.  So, if you’re not a wine person, they have other great drinks available as well.

My husbands ravioli was also very good.  Big chunks of flavorful sweet Italian Sausage and tender home-made pasta.  All these I would happily order again.  We all had left overs and felt very full and happy.  It was good food that I was happy to pay for.  My only real criticism was just more salt next time, please!!

When I was in the kitchen talking to Mason he had just taken out some Lamb Shanks from the oven that had been cooked 5 hours until falling off the bone.  They serve them over polenta.  I’m getting that next time… 

Have you been to Sycamore St. Grill?  What did you think?  Is there another Valley restaurant that I’ve been missing out on?  Let me know!

And remember, no town is too small for a food snob. So be one.

-michaela

One man’s surplus is another man’s supper.

By Guest Blogger: Breanne Durham  

Food shortage. Hunger. Malnutrition. Obesity. These are worldwide issues that seem daunting to most of us. You make a donation to your local shelter. You “like” Michelle Obama’s national Let’s Move! campaign on Facebook. Maybe you event sponsor a child in a developing nation. And, if you’re anything like me, you probably still wonder if you’re making any difference at all. (Stay with me here – I promise this article will end on a more positive note than it began!)
I highly encourage you to continue making the types of efforts listed above – they do make a difference. But if you’re looking for a very localized and rewarding way to ease some of the strain caused by our current food system, consider something as simple as stocking your local food bank with produce from your own garden. By simply beginning the practice of “planting an extra row for the hungry” (if you’re spiritual, you could think of this as your “garden tithe”), you can help alleviate food shortages and hunger in your own community, as well as malnutrition and obesity by providing healthy options to the sometimes bleak and bland choices provided to low-income people at food pantries.
  A non-profit organization that put this concept on the map in the inland northwest is Backyard Harvest. Started by a mother who ventured into the world of gardening, only to discover that she had about 200 extra heads of lettuce from her first patch, Backyard Harvest focuses its efforts on a localized approach to healthy food access and community development. I have the utmost respect for this organization and encourage you to visit their website to learn more about how they have been making a huge impact with small, simple activities!

Although Backyard Harvest is based in Moscow, we, in the Lewis Clark Valley, can easily replicate their values and practices in our own community. Here are some ideas for you:

• Start a backyard garden of your own! Even if you only grow enough to feed your own family to begin with, you are still positively impacting our planet by eliminating some of the transportation and packaging costs of our globalized food system.
• If you’re an apartment dweller, like me, consider renting a plot in one of our community gardens (Osborn Community Garden and the Clarkston Community Garden). Or, encourage a friend who does have a yard to garden with you for the season and share the workload and the rewards.
• Plant an extra row for the hungry! Designate a certain patch of your garden for the food banks. You can also just collect surplus produce from the bulk of your garden or orchard. Don’t let any good produce go to waste just because you and your neighbors can’t eat another zucchini (I don’t care how creative you are – there are only so many ways to cook a zucchini!) this summer! The Community Action Partnership Food Bank, located in downtown Lewiston, accepts fresh produce. Other food banks in town may as well. Or, you can just drop off your produce at the Lewiston Farmers Market each Wednesday from 5-7 p.m. and we’ll take it to the food bank for you!
• Volunteer for an organization like Backyard Harvest. Two hours on a ladder in a peach tree orchard can yield baskets upon baskets of delicious fruit to be given to low-income families. Backyard Harvest can get you in contact with land owners who want volunteers to glean their fruit.
• Tell your friends! One of the most effective ways to spread a movement like this is through word of mouth. Tell the people you care about to join you in collecting your surplus produce for local families in need. Remember the old saying: “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” When it comes to local community efforts to alleviate hunger, the saying changes to “One family’s surplus produce is another family’s healthy, nutritious and filling supper.”

Looking for Recommendations and Guest Bloggers!

Where is your favorite place to eat?  What do you always order, even when you tell yourself you’re going to try something new?!

It doesn’t matter where you live – if you’re passionate about a local place, have a family recipe to share or a favorite food – Tell me about it!

Up Coming Posts:

• Sycamore Street Grill. Clarkston, WA.
• The Edge. Orofino, ID. (I hear they have lobster butter to die for.)
• The Hideaway.  Lewiston, ID.  (Fried Chicken and Beer Battered Fries, Cheese burgers – I hear it’s all good.)
• Station 3.  Clarkston, WA.  (Word is – the Seafood Pasta is pretty amazing.)

What is your favorite place to eat??  Have I been missing out?

Remember, no town is too small for a food snob, so BE ONE!

-michaela